I’ve always had pets ever since I was a child – both cats and dogs, usually at the same time. I’ve had purebred pets and mixed breeds – a few purchased from pet stores and breeders, while most of the others were rescued from local animal shelters and humane societies. And I have to say overall that in my experience, the best pets we’ve had are the ones we’ve rescued.

Kayla is the latest addition to our family. When we found her, she was an overweight, wiggly, two-year-old pure Yellow Lab who proved to be too much for her previous owners (which is very common with popular large purebreds – see note at end of article*). We took one look into her amber eyes and knew she was our dog, meant to become part of our family, which already included an elderly Siamese cat and a Shepherd/Husky mix, also rescued from a shelter. So we brought Kayla home and immediately got to work.

Our first job was to make sure she got along with our other two pets, Dugan and Sheba. Dugan, the cat, hates all dogs in general (or pretends he does) so we worked on making sure Kayla knew that he wasn’t a new furry chew toy, and that Dugan was able to escape should she get too boisterous while attempting to play with him. Sheba, our older Shepherd/Husky, met Kayla on neutral ground, at the Humane Society, where it was determined by the staff that they would get along fine. When they met, Kayla submitted immediately to Sheba by lying down, bearing her throat, and licking Sheba’s muzzle.

Our next job, my favorite, was to lavish her with love and let her know that whatever had happened previously in her life, she had found her true home. Being a Lab, she figured that out right away and attached herself to us, literally, following us everywhere we went and sticking close to our sides. In fact whenever we sat down, once she figured out that we thought she was too big get up in our laps, she’d lie on the floor near our feet, leaning into our legs. Needless to say we tripped over Kayla quite a bit in those early days (and still do somewhat)!

Next we needed to teach her some simple discipline. Kayla had not been trained at all, as far as we could tell, and she was out of control – which wasn’t good for her and was destructive for us. At 97 pounds, she all but tore our arms off when we walked her, and she tried to knock anyone over who came to visit us. So we worked diligently to teach her simple commands of sit, lie down, and stay, as well as not to jump on people who came into our home, and how to heal on the leash while walking. It took time, effort, and patience – but it paid off. We still had our exuberant, joyful, playful Lab, but we could control her more easily, which was better for us and safer for her.

During that time we also worked hard to get the weight off. She’d been overfed and under exercised by her previous owner, and was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. Within four months of our bringing her home she’d lost 22 pounds and was at a much healthier weight of 75 pounds (though she always acts food deprived when anyone is around who might believe her to try to get some extra chow). In addition, after the weight came off, her thyroid problem cleared up.

We’ve now had Kayla for over four years, and she is the love of my life. She’s my best friend who loves me unconditionally, is happy to see me whenever I reappear in her life, and follows me everywhere. She licks my face when I cry, nips my heels when I dance (she doesn’t appear to approve of dancing) and fills my life with great joy.

I realize that non-rescued/purebred animals bring the same joy to pet owners - really, I do know that. But maybe it’s because we rescued her from an unhappy life and she’s grateful to us, or maybe it’s just Kayla’s nature. Whatever it is, she’s the best dog we have ever had and she brings us more joy than we ever imagined possible – which, now that I mention it, our other rescued dog, Sheba, did also.

*Just got to have a purebred? I understand – Yellow Labs are my favorite breed, and I can’t imagine having any other kind now that I’ve had Kayla for four years. But you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to a breeder for a purebred lab, especially if you aren't going to show it or breed it. You can usually find young ones at local shelters, because once they grow from cute puppies to clumsy adolescents, many people find they can’t handle them, as was the case with Kayla. And there are rescue organizations for just about every breed there is. So check them out before you head off to a breeder or pet store if you are interested in rescuing an animal from a shelter.

Susan Ryder is an animal lover and creative writer. This article has been submitted in affiliation with (http://www.PetLovers.Com/) which is a site for Pet Forums.

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